| Show NATIONAL AFFAIRS Reviewed w c by y CARTER FIELD I Deal insiders about about- I lace face ace on Paul V. V McNutt McNut Fleet of 0 destroyers helpless against poeTiC pocket batt battleship a as e. e explained by experts How orv idea Mea of transferring tram U. U S. S tips ships lI PJ to the Irish Iril flag originated WASHINGTON It It ma may not mean meana a thing but it Is II mighty curious how all the inside New Dealers have suddenly taken Paul PaW V. V McNutt to their bosoms It was only a few months back that they were denouncIng denouncing denounce ing him as a Fascist to put it mild mild- ly Iy They were bitter of course about what they considered his reactionary reactionary re reo attitude toward labor when he was governor of Indiana Why such a man should be singled out by the Chief and made mad high commissioner of the Philippines they simply Imply could not understand At about this time McNutt was a guest guest during during a visit to Washington from the Philippines Philippines-at at a stag dinner din ner ncr at which President Roosevelt was also a guest A little skit was wai put on on with McNutt the target The President was urged In advance to pull a certain line when the character char acter depleting depicting McNutt should conclude con clude elude his hll bombast The original sug sug- came from a man very close to the New Deal The committee arranging arranging ar are ranging the skits for this dinner thought it would be a wow Not only that but they were sure ure the President would take malicious pleasure In taking a part in the entertainment entertainment en which would be humiliating stIng to McNutt Much to their the President Preal dent merely smiled at the suggestion tion and the skit had to be played without Including the Chief Executive Executive tive live as a. one of Its actors Bear In that this dates back to when McNutt was still in the Philippines though very much a candidate for the presidency New Dealers all til over town were interested interest Interest- ed In the story but they all agreed that It would be beneath the Presidents Presidents President's Prell dents dent's dignity to take part in such uch a slapstick comedy used Refused to Take Part in Skit That Belittled M McNutt Nutt The point is that anyone who has seen Roosevelt either in Albany or Washington at parties of this sort ort knows perfectly well that he thoroughly thor thoro enjoys enjoy that tha t particular r sort of slapstick He openly enjoys taking part In Inthe Inthe Inthe the original skit It If there Is some point to his doing so 0 And he finds plenty of things to kid his lieutenants lieuten ants about without seeking outside help But flut he refused to take part in a skit which would have belittled the Hoosier who was so 0 obviously gunning gunning gun gun- ning for Roosevelt's Job obi It took the New Dealers a is longtime longtime long longtime time to get on to this policy of the President towards McNutt Even after he was brought into the present present pres pres- ent ant administration setup there was considerable walling wailing from the left wingers Some of them privately opined that perhaps the Chief was purposely assigning McNutt a task which would be so 0 big that he would rattle around In It It rattle rattle so 10 obviously obviously that he would destroy himself In the eyes of the country as a contender contender contender con con- tender for a still Wl bigger bluer job Of course there them Is II nothing to prove that this last theor theory is I. Impossible So far tar McNutt Is I. not rattling He lie may never The Job ob may make him Instead of killing him off But perhaps that is what Roosevelt Roosevlt has haa been Intending ever since long before he be declined to help make a laughing stock tOck of the hoosier at t this dinner party Whatever may be the truth the New Dealers seem Item to have conj con eluded that McNutt Is the fair h. haired fair Ired boy Certainly the oil oU sprayers and grease guns gun have gone cone to work It II ItIs Itis is Just a little like the face about some of our Communist friends In Inthis Inthis inthis this countr country executed after the rut lilt ler Stalin pact Destroyers Are Helpless A Against fain tt Pocket Battleship Few laymen understand the difficulties diM which confront the British and French navies navle In running down the Nazi pocket battleships Nearly everyone now knows know that there are only about three ships In the whole British navy the navy the battle cruisers which are capable both of overhaulIng overhaul overhaul- I Ing the pocket battleships and then I sinking them Incidentally the United United Unit Unit- ed States navy has neither the pocket pock et at battleship nor the battle cruiser cruis crul er has er-has has none under construction- construction and end unless developments should hould shake the present determination of the admirals our navy has haa no DO Intention intention tion of ever building them But what the layman does not appreciate ap ap- ap predate Is I. the difficulty of hunting down a pocket battleship with numbers numbers num nurn- bers rather than with power In arguments but the situation for example some ome layman will demand to know why a squadron of destroyers destroy ers era does not go after each of the pocket battleships reported to be preying on our commerce and bound It to death like a pack of wolves might destroy a bear Two or three of the wolves might be killed the layman will toy sa Y but the pack would kill the bear Or translating the sin lie two rr er five ve of 1 L' L j the destroyers if ii the pursuing craft are destroyers might be sunk unk but the squadron would get the pocket battleship It is by no means as simple as that thaL Naval experts say uy that the only function destroyers could play In such a chase would be as scouts couts The only thing they could do would be to locate the pocket battleship and keep contact with her so 0 to speak peak until a ba battle cruiser could come up for the kill kilt Present Day ire Gunfire Is Amazingly Accurate What the layman does docs not appreciate elate date in his hi theor theory about a whole squadron of destroy destroyers en attacking a pocket battleship i Is the amazing accuracy accurse ac ac- ac- ac curacy curse of present-day present gunfire even at tremendous ranges Of course the destroyers have slightly greater speed than the pocket pock pock- et ci battleships and therefore therdore could determine the range at which the action would be fought But Dut unless they could come up fairly close Under under under un un- der cover of fog without being detected detected detected de de- de- de they would all be sent to the bottom before they got close enough ellough to fire a shot or dispatch a torpedo with any hope of its iti finding its mark For accuracy a submarine or torpedo tor tor- br- br boat must be very much closer to Its target than a gun big-gun ship For example the face of a chief gunnery officer of a battleship would be very red rod indeed If he did not hit a target as a. big as III a destroyer on the third salvo salvo salvo-at at a distance of yards and with the battleship from which he was firing proceeding at full speed peed in a rolling roiling seal eal Besides the pocket battleships carry airplanes which are not only useful for scouting the surrounding ocean but can be used with amazing amazing ing lug precision by triangulation for aiming the heavy guns of the ship when the target Is over the horizon It would be suicide to send a whole fleet of smaller craft against a pocket battleship except on the thelong thelong thelong long chance that In fog fOI or mist they might get close enough to loose a school of torpedoes Proposal to Transfer U. U S S. Ships to Irish Flag One of the most amazing International International International Inter Inter- national moves in all history so far tar faras faras taras as Its inception Is Ii concerned whether er cc It ever works work out or not is the proposal to transfer ships now flyIng flyIng fly fly- Ing the United States flag to Ireland Instead of Panama Actually It amounted to a straight tip from the President of the United States to the Irish republic and to in international In shipping men that while the United States government would no longer countenance any transfer of United States ships to the flag of I Panama or any other American republic re re- public the same objections would not lie against their transfer to the Irish flag I Had the scheme been thought out In advance and the tip then discreetly dis dis- erectly conveyed it would be merely merely mere mere- ly a clever device It was the way the Idea developed that makes It stand out Actually President Roosevelt was answering questions of newspaper newspapermen men about the transfer of United States flag nag ships to Panama lie He had added one argument which had not been printed before that before that to do this would be to encourage one of the American republics to take a position tion on neutrality divergent from that taken by the United States With this subject disposed of the President was then asked about the complaints of the Irish Free State made through Its minister In Washington Wash ington against the Irish ports being held to be in danger zones and hence forbidden to ships flying the American flag lIag The President expressed his sympathy sympathy sym sym- pathy path with Ireland Belgium Holland Hol 1101 land Denmark naming these individually indi and others but said ald that unfortunately the question of whether er a particular part of the sea is a danger zone danger zone Is a question of fact not sympathy or desire Suggests That Irish Buy Huy Some Ships of ol Their Own Finally the President himself suggested sug aug that the Irish should have some ome ships of their own I To the Immediate question of whether the United States would be Interested In Ina ina ina a bid of the Irish for the ships that cannot now be transferred to the flag of Panama the President Indicated that the government might be ver very willing to sell To the further question ques tion of whether the same lime objection would apply to the transfer to the Irish flag nag of ships flying the United States flag which had applied to their transfer to the Panama flag the he President answered emphatically ly Iy In the negative That's That how the Idea was born bom the President stating that he had heard no suggestion of It It but would we welcome wel come a proposal Most newspaper men at the conference con con- ference were so Intensely Interested in the bigger bluer tor story that the transfer of additional ships to Panama was definitely off this oft this being the first time that this was really settled settled- and In the collateral and also tremendous tre tre- story that Secretary Cordell Cor Cor- dell deU Hull had again won a spectacular lar victory victor he has never lost a battle battle bat bat- tle tIe since he became head of the department of state that very little attention was paid to this remarkable ble Inh tor story But politician and diplomats alike are speculating since they have been told about It IL The thing looks look fool fool- proof For Instance would the Nazis dare to sink ink an Irish ship If It they did what would be the reactions a of the Irish government and people people peo peo- pie and Ib b of the Irish-Americans Irish in the United States State mill IDell |
